The domain name world is growing and more people are looking for good domain names and have them registered. There is a simple cause and effect relationship in place when it comes to domain name registration. There’s an increasing number of people who have an interest in registering a domain name and in order to meet this demand, there is also a rising number of domain name registration companies to choose from.

If you have an interest in registering a domain name, then there are a couple of things that you should know about domain name registration first. When you know the fundamentals, you will be able to pick the right domain name and make the process of domain name registration a quick and simple one.

A domain name is made up of two parts; the domain name itself and the domain extension. For instance, in “mydomain.com”, “mydomain” is the domain name proper, while .com is the domain extension. Selecting a top level domain is one of the most important considerations in domain name registration; .com is probably the most vital and is primarily designed for commercial websites. However, you might want a different top level domain extension; .net or .org, for example.

When you register a domain name, your contact information goes into the public whois databases; there are entries for the primary contact, administrative contact, billing contact and so on. Your DNS information is also added to this database. When you look up a website through a whois search tool, this is the information that you will find if someone has registered this site.

Another thing that you may want to know prior to starting the process of choosing a domain name for your new site, much less begin the domain name registration process proper and this is that a domain name may contain any letters, A through Z, any whole number 0 through 9 and hyphens, though a domain name may not begin or end with a hyphen.

You may also have a domain name which is as long as 67 characters, though shorter is always better, since this makes it easier for potential visitors to find and just as importantly, to remember. You’ll need to work with a domain name registrar to register a domain name, since only these companies are allowed by ICANN (the international body which manages domain name registration) to provide domain name registration services. If you’re looking to register a domain name, one of these companies should be your first stop.

The writer, Joshua Nikenya, is an online entrepreneur who has been in the domain name field for many years. Visit his website where he and his team of experts have prepare detailed information on how to do a domain name search, how to get a domain name guide, and much more regarding domain names.